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Read MoreCowboy Gear: Saddles
“The West was won and conquered by the men who sit in saddle leather.” Saddle, a cowboy’s workbench and his throne. In the West, known as cow saddles, range saddles, stock saddles. In the East as Mexican saddles, Western saddles or cowboy saddles. Western cowboys were not impressed with...
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Read MoreFrom Vequero to Cowboy
What’s the difference between Vequero or Cowboy? Cattle handlers were called many names with various meanings through out the past 150 years, beginning with the great cattle drive era to present day. Today cowboy is the most familiar term, but in the old days it meant something entirely different....
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Read MoreCast Iron Cookware
Worth a Mention in Your Will Cast iron cookware has been so treasured for many generations, some women left specific instructions in their will for the care of their cookware. Without a doubt, the best wedding present we received was a large cast iron skillet. My sister-in-law said, “I...
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Read MoreThe Cowboy Stomp
Stomp, Hoe-Down, Shin-Dig, Baile, Hoe-dig The “grapevine telegraph” spread the word through short grass country of upcoming social events. Neighbors rode for miles to share the gossip and pass the word along to other neighbors. If any cowboy who happened by your place mentioned the upcoming Hoe-Down, you could...
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Read MoreLongfellow’s Christmas Bells
The sorrow behind the joyful words of Longfellow’s song. As a writer, I’m always fascinated to learn the history behind the stories and how the events at the time might influence the words that flow onto a blank page. Good or bad, joyous or devastating–strong emotions can evolve into...
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Read MoreTruck Cookies and Piles of Worms
“Traditions are the guideposts driven deep in our subconscious minds. The most powerful ones are those we can’t even describe, aren’t even aware of.” ELLEN GOODMAN “I’m putting a truck on mine,” proclaimed my eight-year-old. “That’s a great idea!” I said. Dump trucks are not ordinarily parked on holiday...
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Read MoreCranberry Relish Time!
Finding Joy in Simple Things like Cranberry Relish! Fate is a funny thing; people weave in and out of our lives and sometimes the ones who make the most memorable impact are here for the briefest of moments. I love these simple surprises, like the day I discovered cranberry...
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Read MoreGoodnight Historical Center; Worth A Stop
If you happen to be traveling along U.S. Highway 287 through the Texas Panhandle this holiday season, plan for a pit stop at the Charles Goodnight Historical Center in Goodnight, Texas. Don’t blink because you might miss it. Set back from the black top, you will see an 1887...
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Book Reviews & Gift Ideas
Looking for your next read or a unique gift idea? Here are a few of my recent discoveries. Follow the links to author websites for more information and how to purchase. Cookbooks Home-Style Cooking for Extraordinary Diets by Sherri Axe Hartman Gluten free, wheat free, casein free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, corn free, and nut free. These recipes were developed over a 15 year span by a friend out of necessity for life. Hartman shares her best recipes, tested and perfected through trial and error over the years. Hartman states, “It is better to get on the diet than take a chance of causing more damage or getting something worse.” You can email the author directly for ordering information: sherri-axe-hartman@outlook.com Sourdough Biscuits and Pioneer Pies by Gail L. Jenner Loaded with down home, time tested recipes and history. Jenner has put together a timeless book with baking secrets of Native American ranch house cooks, chuck wagon chefs, and wagon train homemakers, with over a hundred Old West recipes—updated and kitchen tested. Frontier Fare by Sherry Monahan Drawn from the author’s ongoing column in TrueWest Magazine, this cookbook combines myths, nostalgia, and legends with usable, delicious, and fun recipes for use at home or on the trail–all with a western theme. ...
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Update: What’s New
Happy Fall, Y’all! Here’s an update on what’s new and what I’m working on: Rescue Animal Series: Geared towards emerging readers, these are chapter books with 3rd/4th grade vocabulary. If your elementary school or library would be interested in a program about “The Power of Words”, send me an email or call my office. All dates are full for Fall 2018, but you can still reserve a date for Spring 2018 or Fall 2019. Go to the CONTACT tab at the top of the page. Update: FLASH and TAZ are now available in hard cover, library binding format, as well as soft cover and eBook. Trouble in Texas series: A wild west adventure set in the frontier town of Justice, Texas. Book 1 is HANGIN’ DAY, and in a few weeks I hope to have Book 2 available, THE GREAT TRAIN CAPER. Here’s a peek at the beautiful cover, designed by Rory C. Keel with Carpe Diem Publishers. This is a chapter book series for ages 8-10, and a fun read for the entire family. MAGGIE’S BETRAYAL, is a short novella that was selected for the anthology, OUR TIME ON ROUTE 66. It’s dramatic women’s fiction...
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Fall Work on a Texas Ranch
Fall Weaning on a Texas Cattle Ranch. As the leaves turn to Fall colors and the early morning air takes on a crispness, ranch owners are busy gathering herds for Fall weaning and shipping to market. This is the time of year when supply meets demand. In 1867 Abilene, Kansas provided the first rail head markets, where the deals were made. Buyers for eastern meat packers in Kansas City, St, Louis, and Chicago depended on the men who suffered...
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Arbuckle: The Original Cowboy Coffee
“The Coffee that Won the West” When you walk into the doors of the event center for the Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, the first thing you notice is the smell of coffee. Hot water streaming through fresh ground coffee beans actually in the booth to your right. It takes a strong continence to walk past that smell without stopping. I gave in to the assault on my nose and several minutes later walked away with a new coffee mug...
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